Cleaning apparatus



m oi D Q T w E a A Y A A m L ATTORNEY July 8, 1969 s. L. WIEDER HOLD CLEANING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 14, 1967 BY Qua -K KM United States Patent US. Cl. 15306 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Apparatus for cleaning strip material including a power rotated roller positioned to contact the material when relative movement is effected therebetween with the roller having a porous exterior surface and means for drawing fluid radially through the roller surface to carry away any foreign matter dislodged from the strip surface.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This invention relates generally to surface cleaning apparatus and more particularly to such specialized cleaning apparatus for cleaning photographic film or other materials to remove dust, fluid or other such foreign matter.

Description of the prior art In such fields as data recording where coded information is stored at very high densities on photographic film, it is imperative that the film surface be clean and free of foreign matter during both the recording and readout operations. During recording, the information is stored by the use of scanning radiant energy beams such as electron beams which are modulated in accordance with a digital data signal. Naturally, any foreign material on the surface of the film can disrupt the recording process by intercepting or otherwise adversely affecting the operation of the beam. At the densities which the data is recorded, even small particles of dust can blot out a significant amount of data.

In one known process, the film is developed by a standard wet developing process and is read by passing a light beam through the film to be modulated by the light and dark portions of the film. If it is desired to reread the film immediately to check the recording process, the film must be wiped clean of any fluid which may remain as the result of the developing process because such fluid can affect the transparency of the film and interrupt the reading process.

Naturally, it can also be appreciated how dust on the film surface can cause an erroneous reading'of the data recorded. Experience has shown that the application of pressured air or mechanical wiping alone usually will not clean the film sufficiently for the purpose heretofore described. Various attempts have been made in the past to provide satisfactory cleaning apparatus. However, the problems are greatly complicated when it is necessary to remove foreign matter having dimensions of twenty- ICC five microns or less since such particles must not only be physically dislodged from the surface, but must also be carried away before they can settle back onto the surface. Particles this size lie within the boundary layer of circulating air and thus are difficult, if not impossible, to dislodge from the surface without some form of mechanical wiping. Also in the case of removing liquids from films, the liquids adhere to the surface and are not removable by air except by utilizing the relatively slow evaporating processes. To complicate the cleaning task even further, static charges frequently work to hold or attract the matter onto the film surface.

Therefore, the primary object of this invention is to provide in improved cleaning apparatus to remove foriailgn matter from the surface of photographic film or the A further object of this invention is to provide a cleaning apparatus incorporating both a mechanical Wiping and pressured fluid scouring of the surface to dislodge and carry away any foreign matter on the surface.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Apparatus for cleaning strip material comprising a rotatable roller positioned to contact a surface of the strip, drive means for rotating the roller at a peripheral speed exceeding the linear speed of the strip surface, and suction means for creating a flow of environmental fluid into the roller to carry away any foreign matter dislodged from the strip.

The forgoing and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in the acompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is a cross-sectional view of a preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional view along the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1;

' FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view of the roller and shaft assembly;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of FIGURE 3; and

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged view of a portion of the shaft sleeve assembly.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the subject invention, an apparatus 10 is provided for cleaning a chip 11 by effecting relative motion between the chip and a roller 12a such that an exterior porous wear surface 14 of the roller contacts the chip with a wiping action to dislodge any foreign material on the chip surface. Concurrently with this wiping action, environmental air is drawn in through the porous outer layer of the roller ata velocity suflicient to pull any dislodged foreign material into the roller and exhaust it from the vicinity of the chip. In this manner, -a mechanical wiping of the chip surface is effected while at the same time a scrubbing action is achieved by the flow of air past the chip and radially in through the roller, to dislodge and carry directly away from the surface any foreign material. In the preferred embodiment, the environmental fluid is air, however, it is recognized that the cleaning apparatus could be used in an environment of other types of fluid such as water to effect a cleaning action with beneficial results in specific instances.

In the embodiment shown, it is desirable to clean both surfaces of the chip 11 and for this purpose two rollers 12a and 12b are mounted with the exterior of the layers 14 thereof in contact so that as the chip 11 is passed therebetween each surface is scrubbed. Frequently, it is necessary to clean only one surface if the film is opaque while both surfaces of transparent film need be cleaned. The rollers are mounted on rotatably supported shafts 15a and 1511 respectively, held at the ends by bearings 16, 17. These bearings are positioned in openings 18, 19 of a solid-walled housing 20 enclosing the cleaning apparatus. The resilient layer 14 of each roller is fixed to a removable sleeve 21 (FIGURES 2 and 4) which slides over the shaft and includes an indent 22 (FIGURE 5 which interfits with a complementary indent 24 in the shaft to align and prevent relative rotation between the sleeve and the shaft. The sleeves can be replaced by removing from the housing 20 a cover 20a held in place by screws 2% (FIG- URE 1).

The lower shaft 15b is driven by a belt 26 cooperating with a pulley 27 fixed to an extension 28 thereon. On the opposite end of the shafts 15a and 15b respectively, are meshed gears 29 and 30 for transmitting rotational power between the shafts. Thus, as the belt 26 is power driven, the lower shaft 15b is rotated in the clockwise direction (FIGURE 2) while the upper shaft 15a is rotated in the counter-clockwise direction to rub the opposite surfaces of the chip 11 as it is passed therebetween.

The chip 11 is passed through openings 32 and 34 in the opposite sides of the housing 20 and in alignment with the juncture between the two rollers. Thus, by sliding the chip between the adjacent guides 35 and 36 positioned adjacent the inlet opening 32, it is passed between the rollers where mechanical contact is made with each side of the chip to effect a wiping action on the surfaces of the chip for the cleaning thereof. The chip passes on between the rollers and through the opening 34 to be received by the guides 38 and 3-9. In the present embodiment, the chip is passed through the rollers by a mechanism (not shown) which holds onto the trailing end of the chip such that the portion containing the data is passed completely between the rollers and then is withdrawn out through the opening 32 again after cleaning is accomplished. The brushes are turned at a speed sufiicient to scour the film surface with the speed of the chip being determined so that each portion of the chip is contacted thoroughly by the scrubbing action of the rollers for effective cleaning. In the manner described, any foreign matter on the chips is brushed away by the wiping action of the roller portions 14.

However, it has been found that merely dislodging this foreign matter is not suflicient and it is necessary in addition to carry this foreign matter away from the chip to prevent its coming to rest on the chip as it passes from the cleaning apparatus. For instance, frequently a static charge will attract the foreign material to the chip as it is withdrawn from between the rollers. Thus, according to the present invention, the foreign material dislodged by the rollers is carried away by a vacuum fluid which, in the present embodiment, is air being drawn radially into the rollers and out of the housing by an apparatus (not shown) acting to create a vacuum pressure at an outlet 40 in the housing 20. To control the air flow, the housing forms a pair of internal cavities 41 and 42 separated by a partition 43 having openings 44 through which the shafts pass. These openings 44 closely fit about the shafts to prevent or limit air leakage lengthwise of the shaft. The shafts 15a and 15b are hollow (FIGURES 3 and 4) to form a center passage 45 therein extending the length of the shaft. The ends of each shaft are closed by plugs 46 with access to the center opening 45 being provided through a series of openings 47a extending through each shaft wall in a position of alignment with the chamber 42. A second series of openings 47b extend through the shaft in alignment with openings 48 (FIGURE 3) in each sleeve 21 at the cleaning cavity 41. The wear surface 14 of each roller preferably is a resilient material such as an open pore form so as to permit free passage of the foreign matter and air. The material also must be sufficiently hard to scour the film surface yet pliable enough so as not to scratch the surface being cleaned.

During operation, the chip is passed between the rollers in the manner previously described while a vacuum is drawn at the air outlet 40. This vacuum creates a high velocity air flow indicated by the arrows in FIGURES 1 and 2 coming in through openings 32 and 34 of the housing 20 and passing through the roller coverings 14, the openings 47b, in the sleeve 48 in the shaft and flowing lengthwise along the shaft interior 45 and out through the openings 47a to the vacuum chamber 42 and the air outlet 40. This air flow preferably is high velocity so as to carry away any foreign matter which is dislodged from the chip to maintain the fluid environment in the chamber 41 clean. The velocity of the air must be sufficient to draw the dislodged matter quickly through the rollers against the pull of the centrifugal force acting thereon. By drawing the air directly through the rollers, it is circulated across the area being scrubbed by the rollers to carry any foreign matter directly away from the surface from which it was dislodged. The guides 49 extend to a position near the line of contact between the roller and film to guide the incoming air to the film surfaces so that some foreign matter is dislodged without mechanical scrubbing action. Such a cleaning apparatus as heretofore described has proven suitable for removing solid matter such as dust from film chips as Well as for removing liquids from the surface such as might be necessary for drying the film after it has been exposed to a wet developing process.

In the cleaning of opaque film only one roller as shown in FIGURE 4 is required. The air path in this case is from openings 32 and 34 through roller covering 14 (FIGURE 4), openings 47b in the sleeve 48 in the shaft and flowing lengthwise along the shaft interior 45 and out through one open shaft end to which the air outlet connects directly. Thus, if desirable, shaft openings 47a and one plug 46 can be omitted from this rollerv Also vacuum chamber 42 and gears 29 and 30 may not be required.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. An apparatus for cleaning a surface of a member comprising:

a pair of adjacently-positioned power rotated rollers having porous exterior surfaces,

means to effect relative movement between said rollers and member to bring said exterior roller surfaces in contact with the surfaces of said member as the rollers are rotated to perform a scrubbing action on said member for dislodging any foreign matter thereon,

means for drawing the environmental fluid surrounding said rollers through said porous exterior surfaces for carrying any such dislodged foreign matter away from said member, and

a housing having a cleaning chamber enclosing said rollers, with said housing having a second chamber through which said shafts extend and in fluid flow connection with said means for drawing fluid, said 5 6 shafts having radially extending fluid openings in said References Cited second chamber therein to permit fluid flow from UNITED STATES PATENTS the interior to the exterior thereof to draw the fluid through said rollers 1,176,990 3/1916 Scherlf et a1. 15-320 2. A cleaning apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein 5 1,237,047 8/1917 HoWelL. said apparatus is enclosed in a solid Walled housing with 2,501,875 3/1950 Rayburn. inlets therein for admitting said member, and said guide means are positioned within said inlets. FOREIGN PATENTS 3. A cleaning apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein 1,205 2/1963 p said environmental fluid is drawn through said inlets be- 10 fore passing into said rollers, and said guide means serve ROBERT MICHELL, Primary Exammer' to direct the flow of air past the line of contact between the rollers and member to pick up any dislodged foreign matter. 15*100 2 32 -3?" UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Dated July 8 1969 Patent No. 3, 45 3, 681

Inventor(s) L. Wiederhold It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

In Column 4, line 60, after the word "exterior" and before the word "surfaces," should be inserted the word --wea.r--.

SIGNED ANU SEALED NOV 4 1969 (SEAL) Attest:

Edward M. Fletcher, Jr. WILLI AM E. soauym, Attestmg Offxccr Comissioner of Pate t-, 

